04/10/2016
We will be running a candidate (Morgan MacRae) for Speaker of the Student Body on a platform of general assemblies to craft the structure of and organize the transition to the Bard Student union.
Their campaign statement:
My name is Morgan MacRae. I am a member of the fiscal committee studying Environmental Urban Studies. I am running for Speaker of the Student Body as a part of the Student Union Platform. Our goal is to transform the student government into a nonhierarchical, directly democratic student union by providing a platform for the student body to take power. The Student Union Platform has been meeting since last semester. We have ideas for how a student union could specifically function at Bard. However, this must be determined by the students through a democratic process of general assembly meetings and through the organizations of students that already exist. As Speaker of the Student Body, I will organize regular general assembly meetings to create a space for students to envision a comprehensive structure of the Bard Student Union and prepare for this transition.
The Bard Student Union would perform many of the same functions of the current student government, such as club budget distribution, judiciary functions, and facilitating student decision making. However, it would not only do these tasks in a more democratic fashion, but would also fundamentally transform the student body’s relationship with the administration. The administration has fundamentally mishandled Title IX cases, has raised tuition to unaffordable levels, and has routinely bogged down efforts at addressing white supremacy on campus. Despite this, the student government has not organized students or effectively supported students when they have organized themselves. Closed door meetings with the administration are not going to solve the problems facing students. Only a student body organized on principles of mutual aid, solidarity, and direct democracy can successfully protect and advance the interests of students. By collaborating with workers, faculty, and other members of the wider community, a student body organized in a student union would provide a platform for collective liberation.
During this transitional semester, I will elevate the demands of students to top priority. I will do so by using well publicized general assemblies as a place for students voices to be heard and acting upon their demands within the existing structure where possible and outside of it where it is not. The transition process will be designed to conclude by the end of the fall semester, culminating in my resignation and the permanent elimination of the position of Speaker and the student government as a whole.
